1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof camera, and more precisely, to a waterproof camera having an air bleeding hole for connecting the inside and outside of the camera body.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, waterproof cameras which prevent rain, spray from a stream or river, or splashed water from a swimming pool, etc., from permeating the body of a camera have been on the market. To provide a waterproof zoom camera, it is necessary to provide a taking lens barrel which is movable in the optical axis direction with respect to the camera body so as to project from or retract into the camera body through an opening formed in the front wall of the camera body. The lens barrel must be water-sealed with respect to the camera body by an O-ring, for example, which is provided in the gap between the lens barrel and the opening in the camera body.
In practice, a change in internal volume of the camera body, due to the axial movement of the lens barrel' must be taken into consideration. Namely, the operational force to move the lens barrel varies in accordance with the change in the internal volume of the camera body. To solve this problem, the camera body is provided with an air bleeding hole which connects the inside and the outside of the camera body. The air bleeding hole is covered with an air permeable and water impermeable filter to ensure smooth zooming and focusing.
However, if the air permeable and water impermeable filter is provided and exposed on the outer wall of the camera body, while the air resistance of the air bleeding hole may be reduced, the air permeable and water impermeable filter itself can be damaged. Furthermore an exposed filter on the surface of a camera adversely affects the appearance of the camera.
To avoid this, it is possible to provide the air permeable and water impermeable filter on the grip portion of the camera. The air permeable and water impermeable filter can be protected by a protective cover made of an elastic material, such as rubber.
However, since the protective cover must be provided on the inner surface thereof with air bleeding grooves to connect the air permeable and water impermeable filter to the atmosphere, the air bleeding grooves decrease the thickness of the protective cover resulting in a decreased resistance to an external force applied thereto. Consequently, the protective cover can be easily deformed when it is grasped by an operator thereby causing the air permeable and water impermeable filter to be depressed and deformed, this may cause the latter to be damaged or its effectiveness deteriorated.